Update: Christians arrested in Sudan released

Thank you for praying for the 26 men – most of whom are Christians – detained whilst fleeing conflict in Khartoum, Sudan. All of them have now been released.

In an answer to prayer from Sudan, all 26 of the mostly Christian men detained by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) last month have been released.

The men were arrested in batches between 6 and 10 October whilst staying at a Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOS) church in Shendi. The city is some 180km north of Khartoum, the capital, which is where the men had fled from with their families after fighting between the SAF and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensified in the city. Most of the men are members of the SCOC denomination.

At the time of the arrests, members of the SAF military intelligence unit separated the men from the women and children, with all males over aged 18 detained. They were harassed, beaten and interrogated, and accused of affiliation with the RSF, although no formal charges were issued. According to CSW, families saw their loved ones being ill-treated. The men were detained at the Almudada Unit of Military Intelligence, which is notorious for its use of torture and other forms of violence on detainees.

Fourteen of the men were released on 12 and 13 October, and Open Doors understands the remaining 12 have also since been freed.

Please join us in praising God for this development, and please continue to lift these men and their families before the Lord in prayer, asking God to heal, comfort and restore them, and provide for their every need. Please also continue to pray for peace and stability in the country. Thank you.

18 October 2024

18 men imprisoned by Sudanese Armed Forces – please pray

Eighteen men remain imprisoned by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) after being accused of collaborating with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Twenty-six people, mostly Christians, were arrested on 11 October as they tried to leave Khartoum State for the River Nile State to seek refuge from the ongoing fighting in the country. Since then, eight believers have been released.

The Christians among those detained belong to the Sudanese Church of Christ and were interrogated by the National Intelligence Division. They are all being detained in unknown army detention centres. Despite several appeals from church leaders to the government for their release, there has been no response from officials.

“Hostility facing Christians is acute”

Civil war broke out in Sudan last year. The crisis stems from a power struggle between the national army and the RSF; more than 9,000 people have been killed and nearly six million displaced. It has been labelled the world’s largest displacement crisis. 

• See how your prayers and gifts are supporting displaced Christians in Sudan

While all citizens are caught up in the violence, local Open Doors partners working with believers say that Christians face an additional layer of suffering. “The hostility facing Christians is particularly acute outside Sudan’s capital city of Khartoum. But the epicentre of the conflict is the capital, where most Christians live. Many have been forced to flee, while those who remain may be forced, or seen to, take sides in the conflict, putting them at further risk,” says Fikiru*, an Open Doors research expert for East Africa.

“This arrest is evidence and a reminder of the painful situation Sudanese Christians remain in,” says Jo Newhouse*, spokesperson for the work of Open Doors in sub-Saharan Africa. “We call on the Sudanese Government to engage Christian leaders in discussions about the detained believers’ current conditions and allow access to their families and lawyers. We call for their immediate and unconditional release. Fighting over the past year has only exacerbated the suffering of the most vulnerable. We call on Sudan’s partners and the international community to do all in its power to convince the warring factions to find negotiated solutions to the conflict.”

*Names changed for security reasons